Students for Justice in Palestine
Students, staff and community members gathered outside of College Hall at Smith College in Northampton. Flowers were laid out across the entryway at the front of the campus. Large camping tents were pitched just behind the gates. A banner reading “DIVEST FROM WAR INVEST IN PEACE” hung from a window of College Hall. Students inside peered out from the windows.
Since the Israeli state declared war on Hamas militants in October, universities around the world have seen their fair share of student-led organizing in support of Palestine.
Mount Holyoke College is now one of these institutions after a chapter of the international movement Students for Justice in Palestine began meeting early in November. The group led a rally, march, vigil and sit-in for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Nov. 9, with several students occupying Mary Lyon Hall overnight.
